Thursday, August 28, 2008

This week has been one of the craziest weeks ever. The beginning of the week was used to prepare for a publisher visit on Wednesday and Thursday, followed directly by sitting in a conference room all day Wednesday with said publisher and not feeling like a damn thing was accomplished. Wednesday night my grandparents from Palm beach came into town to spend the night on their way back home. My grandmother is a nurse and signs a contract every summer in some random state where they spend a few months. This time it was Washington State and it seems like they had a great time. We had a good visit last night but back to work early this morning we go. Today said publisher is still in town and will surely make us endure another day like yesterday. I have plans to take a different client to dinner tonight and they asked for something hip and edgy. Now you all know that I am not the "hip and edgy" type, I am more low key and relaxed so this has become a challenge. Looks like I am taking them to Sol Y Luna or Fire and Ice, the decision has yet to be made. So after a long night of dinner and drinks tonight I must go home and finish packing for my very first camping trip.

Now I have never camped in a tent, camper, RV or anything less than a cabin at summer camp so this should be very interesting. I love the outdoors and you all know I have no problems getting dirty but I seem to still have reservations about this whole camping thing. We are going to Tennessee and camping in tents on the Ocoee, we plan to raft the Hiwassee on Saturday and the men are rafting the Nantahala on Sunday. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them no matter how embarrassing they may be. Cutler seems to be very excited about this trip, I mean, why not, he is going to be outside all day and night for four days and be dirty the whole time. What's not to love in a two year olds eyes.

So I think I have everything in order and am ready for my first big adventure in a tent, wish us luck. I will most likely not post again until Monday.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

We all know I absolutely hate to get my feet wet, I mean hate, hate, hate it!It has been raining for the last few days around here and on Monday I was running late and forgot to put on my trusty rain shoes, therefore my feet were soaked all day. That made for a not so happy Lori and in case you do not know what that looks like I will post a pic later. So yesterday I had to take Cutler to the doctor because he has been super snotty for the last week or so and he woke up and told me he needed to go to the doctor and get a shot. Now we all know an almost 3 year old is not going to ask for a shot unless he feels horrible. Luckily he came out with no shot and a prescription for Singulair (allergies). I had to run to Academy to pick up a gift card that was donated to the SBA golf tournament (yes I know it has come and gone but we will use it next year) and I picked up a pair of rain boots so now I have a pair of rain shoes at home and will keep the rain boots in my truck for those rainy days when my brain forgets to function.

Last night I took the boots off and this is what happened:

you gotta love pics like this!

So wish me luck and say a prayer for me today and tomorrow, we have some publishers in town that are not very happy and I pray things turn out well.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Yesterday was the second annual golf tournament for the SBA of Alabama and it was a huge success. 63 golfers showed up in the rain to play a round of golf for our wonderful charity. There were over 100 people there total including the volunteers, family members and golfers.

Steven Horne is the father of two sons with Spina Bifida and his family is the one who decided last year to start hosting an annual golf tournament. We arrived at the golf course at 5:45am and of course it was RAINING! As soon as we had things set up the golfers started arriving and did not even seem to notice that the sky was crying and looked as if it were going to be inconsolable all day long. Well the golfers golfed and the volunteers volunteered and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time despite the fact that we were soaking wet the entire day. We even raised about $7,000 which is double that of last years event. Next year it should be bigger and better. Thank you to the Horne's for this wonderful event and all of their hard work!

Here is a pic of The Horne's and myself at the very end, very, very wet!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

So most of you know I will be turning 30 in a little over a month and I have yet to decide how I will take it. In April I set a goal for myself to lose 60 lbs by October 7, 2008 and now I only have 7 weeks to succeed.

I started out on weight watchers but those meetings were just not for me, we all know I have a short attention span and sitting in a room with a lot of other hungry women for an hour a week is just not for me. I am absolutely not knocking the program, I know it works I lost about 14 lbs in 6 weeks on it and I have many friends who have seen dramatic weigh loss with the assitance of weight watchers. So after I decided I could not bear one more hour of talking about the things I should NOT eat, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Come on, we all know I have a degree in Kinesiology and took more health, wellness, and fitness classes than any one person should so I know exactly what to do, doing it is the problem.

Mid-May I started what I call an On My Own program, I started counting calories and going to the gym for cardio at least 4 times a week and adding a little strength training in here and there. It is now August 20 and I have lost a total of......get ready for the number......

are you sure you are ready?.........

ok then..........

I have lost a total of 42 lbs and I am so excited because I am doing it slow and the right way. That means I have 7 weeks to get rid of 18 more pounds, seems impossible but I am determined to get it done. If I am a few lbs shy it will not get me down because I am so proud of what I have acocmplished so far. My clothing size has now dropped by three sizes and I am on the verge of moving from the plus size department back to the misses department. I have not worn misses cloths since I was in high school and I can not wait to get back in them........

Now moving on to Cutler

Cutler turns 3 on October 5 and that may be harder to swallow than me turning 30. Last year when he turned 2, I cried all day long, nothing could make me stop crying. I went to work, sat at my desk and worked without talking to a sole and cried ALL DAY LONG! Maybe turning three will not do this to me again. Reservations have been made for his birthday party on October 4 from 11-1 at SportsBlast on Hwy 280 in Birmingham. Cutler has been asking me for the last 6 months when he can start playing soccer, so I decided to enroll him in SportsBlast for his third birthday and let his party be held there with one of their instructors. He has no idea about it and I am not telling him until that day. I can only imagine the look on his face when he finally get to start playing soccer....

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Background info...Most of you who are reading this blog already know I was born with a birth defect called Spina Bifida, this does not define be but may help you understand some later posts. About a year ago I felt some emptiness in my life and prayed to God to help me determine what was missing. I mean, I have a great husband, a beautiful son, house, dogs, great family, wonderful job, what else can you ask for...well he led me to The Spina Bifida Association of Alabama where I began volunteering a little of my time when possible. The events I attended and assisted in helped my life feel whole, as if God put me here to help other people understand that a birth defect does not have to define who you are. Anyway, moving on, present day I am now the president of this association and am impacting lives on a weekly basis. There are times throughout the year where this association takes up a tremendous amount of time and patience and sometimes I get really pissed off about that, but then I realize this is making my life WHOLE!

So right now is that said busy time and there have been and will be many more events before this is over. Here are a few...

· Birmingham Bowl A Thon, Saturday, Aug 16o Done, raised over $8000o More than 25 adults and children with SB attendedo More than 250 people in total attendedo So many families were able to socialize together and meet others who really understand them

· Birmingham, Golf Tournament, Saturday, Aug 23o This coming weekend and it is not looking goodo We have at least 16 teams coming but looks like a tropical storm could ruin our planso Let’s all pray about this event as we would love for it to have a good turnout

· Bowel and Bladder Conference, Bradley Lecture Hall, Friday, Sept 12o This one may do us all ino Betsy, the VP, is completely overwhelmed by this and I think the rest of us are closeo There are an expected 250 people who will attend including but not limited to healthcare professionals, parents and teacherso I usually have to head up the lunch time round table event at this and allow the attendees to ask me questions as an adult with SB so wish me luck

· The month of October is Adopt-A-Ghosto This is just like the Children’s Hospital Miracle Network hot air balloons you have surely seen posted in businesses over the yearso Basically we need some businesses to take this on and sell the little ghosts at $1 a pieceo This is more about awareness not raising moneyo This is our first year to do this so let’s see how it goes

So if you think I am neglecting you right now as a friend, family member, or support please remember by allowing me time to do this, I am helping so many families who have so many unknown challenges in front of them…thank you for allowing me the time to do this!

**If any of you want to jump on the volunteer band wagon let me know, we have some committees that need more people and it does not matter where you live as most things are handled via phone and email. I appreciate the support you all have given me over the years and now I need more support than ever, not for me but for the entire Spina Bifida community.

Monday, August 18, 2008

A few of my friends have been blogging for a while and I enjoy checking their blogs on Monday morning and learning something new about their lives. I think it is time I jump on the band wagon. My family should appreciate this as there never seems to be enough time to update everyone on the events of the Turner family. So here goes nothing...